Star Wars One-Shots

Forgive Me

Ahsoka watches him go, before she turns towards Obi-Wan. "Did you need something?" she asks, not unkindly, though there's a distinctly unfriendly note.

"No, nothing," Obi-Wan admits. "I just wanted to talk to both of you. I know – I know that Anakin is upset with me. You are too, and you have every right to me."

Ahsoka sighs, blue eyes seemingly weary as they flick down to the floor. "We should have this conversation elsewhere."

"My apartment?"

She nods silently, and they make their way through the Temple towards Obi-Wan's apartment. Anakin never really moved out, to be honest. He still keeps some of his possessions in there, and Obi-Wan hasn't demanded that he remove them. When Anakin completely moves out, it will disconnect them even further, and Obi-Wan doesn't want that.

Obi-Wan enters the code, opening the door to let Ahsoka inside. Her movements are stiff as she steps into the living room and sits down on a couch. Obi-Wan seats himself opposite her. The quiet drags on for a minute or two until Ahsoka breaks it. "I know what you're going to say," she finally tells him. "You'll say that what you did was necessary, that it was justified, because you were protecting the Chancellor."

"You disagree?" he raises an eyebrow, careful to keep his tone gentle so as not to give the impression that he's not going to listen to her.

"No," she replies haltingly. "I – I understand why you did it, but..." Her voice trails off, and she seems troubled, as though reliving a particularly difficult memory. "Do you have any idea how hard it was?" she finally asks, expression nearly pleading. "Do you know how much Anakin has been affected by this?"

"I knew it would be hard," he admits. "Your reactions, Anakin's in particular, were important."

"And I'm not disputing that, but you could have told us after. We're careful, Master Obi-Wan. We wouldn't have let anyone know." Her distress is barely being concealed, but despite her words, Obi-Wan feels part of himself relax. For the first time since he returned, Ahsoka used his first name rather than his last name. Maybe he can still fix this.

Obi-Wan exhales heavily. "I don't know what to tell you," he confesses. "I don't want to sound like I'm hiding behind the Council, but we agreed it would be best. They didn't want to take the risk that the word would slip out, and Dooku would learn of my identity."

"Just... talk to Anakin," she requests, more like demands. "You have no idea how much he's been hurting. He's hardly eating or sleeping... and I'm worried about him. He's shutting himself out." There's something else, but she doesn't continue. Something happened, something very personal. Ahsoka clearly has little intention of sharing with him, and to be honest, he hardly wants to pry. That's – that's worse than he'd expected, though he doesn't even know what he had been expecting. Just... not that.

"I'll talk to him," Obi-Wan promises. And he will. He owes it to the boy he watched become a man to at least do right by what they'd had.

"You better," Ahsoka replies determinedly. "If – if he doesn't let this go, I don't know what will happen to him. He talked about leaving the Order." She watches him intently gauging his reaction to her words.

He doesn't even know what to say to that; he's completely floored. Anakin leaving the Order? Giving up his dream to be a Jedi? It doesn't even sound realistic, but Ahsoka has no reason to lie to him. There's a silent understanding which passes between them before Ahsoka really relaxes, finally able to accept that Obi-Wan will take care of Anakin.

"Can you forgive me for deceiving you?" Obi-Wan questions as a few minutes go by.

Ahsoka is quiet for a long moment, looking down at the carpet before meeting his gaze. "I saw him cry," she whispers, shaking her head. "I – I'm sorry. I can't forgive you. Not quite yet." She gives him a sad smile, one which holds much more pain than she should even know.